Apparatus for conditioning air



July 8 1924.

c. B. INGERSOLL APPARATUS FOR coumnoume AIR Filed'July 17, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 8 1924. 1500,624

C. B. INGERSOLL APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed July 17, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wmllulllmmumnmlllllu mfim o w @W a W rm Y Patented July 8, 1924.

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APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR.

Application filed-July 17,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE B. INGER- SOLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Conditioning Air, of which the following is a specification reference being had to the accom pan ing drawings.

y invention relates to improvements in apparatus for conditioning air, especially designed for use in enclosures for human occupancy, and more particularly to digesting, by heat, a liquid treating medium; causing such treating medium to be minutely divided; causing a current of heated air to pass through the minutely divided treating medium for impregnation, and, in distributing by induction, such impregnated air throughout the enclosure.

My object is to provide an apparatus for the recited purpose in which maximum efficiency is obtained, whose operative expense is reduced to a minimum of cost and attention and which is wholly automatic in action.

' My invention consists in the arrangement, combination and construction of the elements of the apparatus as hereinafter fully, clearly and concisely described, definitely pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, (2 sheets) in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of the complete apparatus, as in operation, showing the course of liquid treating me-' dium and arrows representing the induced air current for distribution of the medium.

Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of the liquid pm and the adjustable bearing for the motor s aft.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail; sectional elevation of the end bearing for the motor shaft.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the liquid distributing canopy.

Figure 5 is an elevation of the canopy.

Figure 6 is an inverted plan view, with the pump cap removed, showing the relative arrangement of the pump and the primary heater, and v Figure 7 is a sectional plan view showing the arrangement of the secondary heater.

Referring by numerals, to the drawings, 8 designates a container, which by preference is of the open topped and shallow con- 1922. Serial No. 575,716.

struction shown, and arranged to receive and hold the liquid treating medium, whose level is indicated by the dotted line and designated as 9.

Concentrically disposed relative to the container is a tubular ring lO, having at circumferentially spaced intervals nozzles 11, whose orifices reside in planes above the liquid level and which is supported as by the feet 12.

A base plate 13, preferably of disc shape is supported by spider arms such as 1 1 and 15, and suspended from the base plate is a pump 16, preferably of the-centrifugal type,

shown, having a rotor comprising radial blades such as 17 and whose housing communicates with the ring 10 through the tubular spider arm 14.- and hollow foot 12.

By preference such pump housing is provided with a removable cap 18, havlng perforations 19, which serve as inlets, to the housing, for the liquid.

Supported over the base plate is a frame 20 providing support for a motor 21, whose shaft 22 is connected with the recited rotor of the pump.

Energy, preferably electrical, is conducted to the motor through the spider arm 15 and through a liquid tight tube 23 from a source, not shown.

Connected with the motor shaft above the base plate 13 is a fan 24 and surrounding the fan is a drum 25, having at its top an outwardly and upwardly flared portion 26, which is surmounted by a canopy top, 27, and which housing has air inlets, such as 28 adjacent its bottom and air outlets, such as 29 in said flared portion 26.

Suspended from the base plate 13 for submersion in the liquid is a heater 30 and supported by the frame 20 is a heater 31.

For the control of the motor and the two heaters I provide a control in the form of resistance device 32, having a slide 33 for the motor, and a slide 34- for the heaters, whereby the speed of pump and fan rotation may be controlled independently of the heaters. Said resistance device 32 is connected to the motor and heaters by electrical wires 32 passing through the tube 23 as shown in Fi re 1. v

In order to lncrease the eficiency of the primary (submerged) heater 30, I provide the circular apron 35 which is suspended from the base plate 13 and functions to entrap about the intakes 19 for the pum the liquid of highest temperature, and unctions, also, to quiet the liquid about said intakes, in its return to the container, to afford uniformity of pump action.

In the furtherance of my desire to keep down the running expense I provide the motor shaft with a jeweled-bearing 36, as shown in Figure 3 which will operate without lubrication and with a minimum of friction and I also provlde shaft aligning means, to further reduce friction, in the adjustable support 37, for the needle 38 for such bear- In addition to the speed controlling device for the pump, for regulating the flow of liquid through the nozzles 11 I provide a valve such as 39, carried by preference, in the foot 12 and arranged to seat over the end of the tubular arm 14.

The canopy 27 is provided with an inclined portion 40, next its periphery, which is divided by radial ribs ll, between which the liquid 1s formed into relatively thin sheets for direction over the margin of the canopy to fall as spaced cataracts of finely divided liquid of relatively high temperature, derived from the canopy which is heated by the heaters 31, and which cataracts are acted upon by the currents of heated air for the broad-casting of the beneficial and desired vapor of the liquid throughout the enclosure.

In operation, a liquid, having a desired air conditioning property, such as moisture for humidifying, or oil of lavender for deodorizing, or formalin for disinfecting, is supplied to the container, is heated therein by the heater 30, for the purpose of rendering it more readily volatile, is forced, by the ump 17 to the nozzles 11, which direct the iquid in spaced jets to fall upon the canopy 27, and there minutely divided and directed by the inclined portion 40 and ribs 41, of the canopy to return to the container in the form of film-like cataracts. which are of relatively high temperature from heat derived from the canopy by reason of the heaters 31.

In Figure l arrows A designate the jets from the nozzles 11, and B designate the film-like cataracts, and arrows C illustrate the air currents from fan 24 which are of high temperature from heat derived from the heated drum 25.

Obviously, the air currents will be caused to traverse the film-like cataracts B and the jets A, and be richly laden With a vapor from the liquid which is broadcasted throughout the area to be treated or conditioned.

Having thus described my method and apparatus, what I claim as new therein and desire .to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, therefore is 1. In an apparatus of the class described, an open topped container for a body of'liquid, a heater for the liquid held in said container, a plurality of nozzles, a pump for forcing the heated liquid through said nozzles to rise in jets above said body, a canopy for receiving said jets, means associated with the canopy for returning said jets to said body in the form of a film-like cataract, means for inducing a current of air to traverse said cataract and jets and means for heating said air and liquid.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, an open topped container for a body of liquid, a heater for the liquid held in said container, a plurality of nozzles, a pump for forcing the heated liquid through said nozzles to rise in jets above said body, a canopy for receiving said jets, means associated with the canopy for returning said jets to said body in the form of a film-like cataract, means for inducing a current of air to traverse said cataract and jets, means for heating said air and liquid, and means for controlling said nozzles, said air inducing means and said heaters.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

CLARENCE B. INGERSOLL. 

